Editor's Viewpoint: We must know truth of Kincora Boys' Home in Belfast

BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

There is a compelling case for the former Kincora Boys' Home in Belfast to be included in the Westminster-driven inquiry into allegations of a paedophile ring operating at the heart of the British Establishment.

There is a compelling case for the former Kincora Boys' Home in Belfast to be included in the Westminster-driven inquiry into allegations of a paedophile ring operating at the heart of the British Establishment.

While Kincora is already included in a Northern Ireland inquiry into child abuse, the remit of the inquiry ordered by the Home Secretary is wider. It can compel Whitehall departments to hand over sensitive documents and also order witnesses to attend.

What went on at Kincora between 1960 and 1980 has long been the subject of rumour. Three care workers were jailed for abusing boys in their care, but it has been claimed that Establishment figures were also involved in the crime and that British security services were monitoring the situation, but later clamped down on information being made public.

There is nothing concrete in any of the claims being made about Kincora or the child abuse at Westminster, but such is the level of public disquiet surrounding the issue that the Government had no alternative but to order an inquiry.

Having launched wide-ranging investigations into celebrities accused of abusing young people, the Government could not ignore even more serious claims that point directly at the heart of the Establishment.

Yet this must not be a witch-hunt with the pre-determined public view that every name which comes out of the rumour mill must be guilty of some crime. It must be focused and swift.

We need to know if important people were involved in child abuse or if they knew of such abuse and covered it up to protect friends.

The public has grown cynical in recent times, realising that some elements of institutions in which they previously had the utmost faith, such as the police, public figures or care institutions, were far from perfect.

They want as much of the truth as can be determined to come out and this inquiry seems a likely vehicle to deliver.